Because Losing Weight is a Bitch, and Gaining it Takes No Effort at All.
This blog is about losing weight for real. No gimmicks, no fast fixes, and no miracle weight loss stories. You won't read anything about losing 30 pounds in a month, but you will learn about losing weight for real, getting healthy, and changing your whole family's eating habits.

Monday, January 30, 2012

Firing Up That Brown Fat--Girls' Ski Weekend

Apropos of my last post, my girlfriend and I ditched the husbands and went skiing this weekend with the kids. Being that we're both skiers, and women, talk often veered in the direction of how many calories we were burning skiing all day.

Now, my girlfriend claimed she read somewhere that you burn 400 calories an hour skiing whether you were actually skiing, on the lift line, or sitting on the lift. Since we normally ski at least 4 hours a day, that would mean 1,600 calories burned every time I bought a lift ticket.

I found that a bit odd, because since I routinely ski multiple days, it should mean that I would lose a little weight every time I ski, which doesn't really happen.

Adding fuel to the fire is the new studies, which I commented on in my last post, showing that cold helps to activate brown fat which increases calorie burn.

Now, I love to ski, and think that it helps me to maintain my weight.

Hey I don't know how many calories I'm really burning when I hit the slopes, but whatever it is it's got to be better than sitting in the lodge or sitting at my desk all day.

Hell, walking around and hauling equipment in ski boots has got to earn me some additional calorie burn--shouldn't it?

About Me

Being over 40 means struggling with your weight, even if you never had to struggle before. In my 20's and 30's I was always active and ate whatever I wanted without gaining weight.
That changed once I hit my 40's. I put on more than 40 pounds on my 5 foot 2 inch frame.
Two years ago I took off most of my post-40 weight gain and have kept it off. It hasn't been easy, however, it's a constant struggle to not gain weight.
On this blog I describe how I lost the weight and how I keep it off.